Apparatus for automatically binding the opening in the automatic packer

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for automatically binding the opening in a net bag in an automatic packer, wherein two main bodies, each having a guide plate with a V-shape cut, are provided slidably and opposite to each other, one main body having a fixed die for binding and a blade for cutting net and the other main body having a bending device to cut flat wire for binding in each desired length and bend the cut flat wire into a U-shape and a movable die, and by movement of said two main bodies a bottom part and an upper part of net bag are bound simultaneously with flat wire and an intermediate portion of the upper and lower binding portions is cut by said blade.

United States Patent [191 Yoshi APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY BINDING THEOPENING IN THE AUTOMATIC PACKER [75] Inventor: Hirosato Yoshi, Osaka,Japan Assignee: Kabushiki K s a aun Ji o i Seisakusho, Osaka, Japan [22]Filed: Sept. 14, 1972 [21] Appl. N0.: 288,982

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 10, 1974 PrimaryExaminerTravis S. McGehee Assistant Examiner-J. Sipos Attorney, Agent,or FirmWenderoth, Lind & Ponack [5 7 ABSTRACT An apparatus forautomatically binding the opening in a net bag in an automatic packer,wherein two main bodies, each having a guide plate with a V-shape cut,are provided slidably and opposite to each other, one main body having afixed die for binding and a blade for cutting net and the other mainbody having a bending device to cut flat'wire for binding in eachdesired length and bend the cut flat wire into a U-shape and a movabledie, and by movement of said two main bodies a bottom part and an upperpart of net bag are bound simultaneously with flat wire and anintermediate portion of the upper and lower binding portions is cut bysaid blade.

5 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTED DEC 10 I874 SHEET 2 OF 9 PATENTEUDEC 10 I974 SHEET 5 OF 9 mesa @A r 4" eossmaswl QSGQQm Q PATENTEDBEB 101974 3; 852,939

$HEEI 9 OF 9 APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY BINDING TI-IE OPENING IN THEAUTOMATIC PACKER This invention relates to an apparatus forautomatically binding the opening of a net bag with a metallic flat wirein an automatic packer for various kinds of articles.

The nature and advantages of the present invention will be understoodmore clearly from the following description made with reference to anembodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an automatic packer.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a binding apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of a fiat wire feeding device forming partof the apparatus shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of one of the main bodies of the binding apparatushaving a fixed die.

FIG. 6 is a sectional side elevation of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the other main body having movable dies.

FIG. 8 is a front elevation of FIG. 7 partley broken away.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the upper part of a pair of wire-bendingportions provided on the apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a front view of FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a pushing plate portion.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the pushing plate portion shown in FIG.13.

An outline of the automatic packer is shown in FIG. I. This automaticpacker is provided with continuous tubular net N which is flattened andwound around a roller R or enclosed in a container. The tubular net N isdrawn out intermittently for each desired length and is put on thecircumferential surface of a guide plate.

Then, the tubular net is cut transversely by a cutter C to make anopening, through which articles to be packed are put in the tubular net.In this case, articles are put in the tubular net through the medium ofa chute S which swings in such a fashion that a part thereof breaks intothe opening. Provided below the chute S is a binding apparatus K,whereby an upper portion of one package and a lower portion of anotherpackage, with the desired space left therebetween, are boundsimultaneously with a flat wire and the tubular net is cut off at theintermediate portion of the upper binding and the lower binding to makeindividual packages. Provided below this binding apparatus K is areceiving table D to facilitate binding and cutting off of the net. Thepacker is so designed that the opening of the net, putting of articlesinto the net, binding and cutting off of the net are synchronized withthe net feeding pitch.

The above-mentioned bindingapparatus is arranged in front of and at thecenter of an automatic packer. As illustrated in FIG. 2 and succeedingfigures, main bodies 1A and 1B of the binding apparatus are providedopposite to each other on both sides of the tubular net to be fed fromabove. These main bodies 1A and 18 have one end slidably mounted on aguide rod 2 which is mounted horizontally on the automatic packer sothat these main bodies may slide freely and have rollers W on the otherend which roll on frame F (see FIG. 5) in such a manner that they movetoward and away from each other along the guide rod 2 and the machineframe F. A crank 5 is driven in a circular motion, through a bevel gear4, by a driving shaft 3 which is driven directly or indirectly by amotor. A roller 5a provided at the tip of the crank 5 is fitted in aslot la made in the main body IA. By the rotation of the crank, theroller 5a reciprocates in the slot 1a, which makes the main body 1Aslide in the lateral direction. The apparatus is so designed that bothmain bodies are driven in such a fashion that they move toward and awayfrom the tubular net synchronously. Both main bodies have at their tipportion a guide plate 6, for squeezing the net, with a V-shaped cut atthe front center. By the reciprocal motion of both main bodies, the netat the position where it is squeezed and bound is forced from the flatstate into a nearly annular condition. Flat wire feeding rollers 8a aredriven by the afore-mentioned driving shaft 3 through a ratchetmechanism 7 (refer to FIGS. 3 and 4). As shown in FIG. 2, the flat wirefeeding device 8 is arranged on the front ofa binding frame Fa which isfixed to the frame F. Enclosed in the main body is the binding apparatusK which binds, with flat wires FW (FIGS. 11 and 12), two portions spacedalong the length of a continuous packing net, i.e., a bottom part of anupper bag and a top part ofa lower bag, and a cutting mechanism whichcuts the continuous packing net between the top and bottom boundportions. This binding mechanism is described below with reference toFIGS. 5-7 and FIG. 12. The binding apparatus comprises the opposed mainbodies IA and 1B. The main body 1A has two fixed die members each havinga die 9 for binding and a W-shaped groove 9a, and upper die member and alower die member. The main bodies 1A and 1B are opposed, with the mainbody 1A (shown in FIG. 5) on the left and the main body 18 (shown inFIG. 7) on the right. A required length of fiat wire FW is drawn outtoward the front of a movable die means constituted by a cutting andbending die 11 and a protruding rod 15 slidable therein, by means of theintermittent rotation of the roller 8a for feeding flat wire (FIG. 4),through a lateral groove Fb provided in a binding frame Fa and across alengthwise groove Fe in which the die 11 is fitted (FIGS. 10, II, 12).When both main bodies IA and 1B begin to move in such a manner that thespace therebetween becomes narrower, flat wire FW which was drawn outinto the groove Fc through the groove Fb which is at right angles to thesliding direction of the die 11, is cut by the cutting blade 11aprovided at the front of the die I]. When the main bodies 1A and 1B drawstill closer, the die 11 advances toward the fixed die 9 along thegroove Fc and engages the cut flat wire. The cut flat wire is thenpressed into the groove 111) provided at the center of the end of thedie 11 as the parts of the die'll on opposite sides of groove llb movepast a wire-bending pin 12 movable into and out of the groove Fc duringthe advance of the die 11. Thus, the cut flat wire is formed into aU-shape in the groove 11b. When the two main bodies 1A and 1B draw stillcloser, the wire-bending pin 12 is withdrawn upwardly out of groove 11band groove F0 to a position such that it does not interfere with thefurther advance of the die 11 carrying with it the bent flat wire.Withdrawing of the wire-bending pin is effected by the followingmechanism. One end of a lever 12a, on the free end of which the pin 12is provided, is pivoted on the binding frame Fa on a spindle 12b. On theend of spindle 12b is fixed a lever 12c having a roller 12d at one endthereof. When the main body 1B advances, this roller 120. is contactedby a cam 12e protruding from the end of the main body 18, whereupon thelever l2e having the roller 12d is pushed up by the cam 12c and thelever 120, which is normally urged downwardly so as to force the pininto the groove Fc by means of a spring SP, is caused to swing upwardlyby the rotation of the spindle 12b, whereby the pin is withdrawn fromthe groove Fc. Thus, the pin 12 withdraws automatically with the advanceof the die 11. The lever 120 has a ratchet mechanism therein, wherebythe pin 12 which was withdrawn is prevented from again projecting intothe groove Fc unless an external force is applied thereto. When the mainbody 18 retracts after binding the tubular net with fiat wire, the pin12 is again pushed down into the groove Fc by means of the spring SP andthe ratchet mechanism.

When the die 9 and the die 11 on the two main bodies make contact, aguide 14 provided at one end of the fixed die 9 presses a roller 13b onthe outer end of a lever 13a on bodylB which actuates an engaging pin 13to withdraw the engaging pin 13 from the main body 1B and the engagementof pin 13 from die 11, leaving the die 11 slidable in relation to themain body 1B. When both main bodies draw still closer, the die 9 and thedie 11 make contact with each other and die 11 stops, whereupon aprotruding rod 15 in the die 11 advances along with the main body 18into the W-shaped groove 9a in the die 9. At this time, the U-shapedflat wire in the groove 11b of the die 11 with its open end forward ispushed by the protruding rod 15 into the W- shaped groove 90. At thistime, the two ends of the U- shaped flat wire are inserted into theW-shaped groove 9a along the inner wall of the groove 9a and when theends reach the bottom of the W-shaped groove 90, they are bent inwardlyalong the shape of the bottom of the W-shaped groove. When the two mainbodies 1A and 1B draw still closer, the protruding rod 15 enters thegroove 9a to the fullest extent and presses and bends the U-shaped flatwire tightly around the tubular net, whereby the U-shaped flat wireachieves complete binding of the net. After the binding is completed,the net is cut between the upper and the lower bound portions by meansof the cutting mechanism enclosed in the main body 1A. To one end of apair of cutting blades 10 mounted on blade body 10a which is slidable inthe forward and backward direction in the main body 1A, is pivotallysecured one end of a push lever 16 which is pivoted on a pin P] on themain body 1A. Opposite to this push lever 16, a set lever 17 isswingably mounted on a pin P2 on the main body 1A. The end 16a of thelever 16 engages in a recess 17a in the set lever 17. When the tip 17bof the set lever 17 is pressed by the roller 50 which moves in the slot1a to slide the main body, end 16a disengages from recess and 17awhereupon end 16a swung by means of a spring SP which urges the pushlever 16 to rotate clockwise. This in turn causes upper and lowercutting bldes 10 which are coupled to the push lever 16 by pin Pd, linkL and pin Pc in body 10a to effect a cutting move- 'ment. Then, when theroller a slides in the slot la in the reverse direction to withdraw themain body 1A, it presses a part of the push lever 16, whereupon end 160is fitted in the recess 17 to set the levers 16 and 17 as shown in FIG.5. When both main bodies withdraw and cause the setting of levers 16 and17 to to be ready for the succeeding action, the die 11 is fixed to themain body 1B by means of an engaging pin 18 and withdraws together withthe main body 18. When the main body 1B has moved to a predeterminedposition, a projection (not shown in the drawing) fixed to the frame ofthe automatic packer presses a roller 18b at the tip of a lever 18a,whereupon the pin 18 is disengaged from the die 11 and the die is againslidable in relation to the main body 18. When the main body 18 alonewithdraws to the position as shown in FIG. 7, the engaging pin 13 againengages with the die 11 and fixes it to the main body 18. Restoration ofengaging pins 13 and 18 is effected by means of a spring enclosedtherein respectively.

It is sometimes experienced that when the binding with fiat wire iscompleted, the binding flat wire is fitted so tightly in the fixed die 9that it is difficult for the binding flat wire to separate from the die9 during withdrawal of dies 9 and 11 only. With this in view, a pushplate 19 is provided on the guide plate 6 of the main body 1A having thefixed die 9 thereon, as shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, so as to separatethe binding flat wire forcibly from the die 9. This push plate 19 isprovided at a portion ofa push lever 20 which is swingable in relationto the guide plate 6 on a shaft and spring. Provided at the tip of thispush lever 20 is a hook 200, which engages with a pawl 20b provided onthe other main body 1B. When both main bodies are withdrawn, the hook20a and the pawl 20b engage with each other and the push plate 19 isheld fixed momentarily while body 1A continues to be withdrawn.

According to the present invention, a main body having a fixed die and acutting blade and another main body having a movable die are drivencorrelatively and a V-shape guide plate is provided for each main body.Therefore, squeezing of net and binding with flat wire can be effectedaccurately and smoothly. Moreover, the apparatus according to thepresent invention can be used effectively, irrespective of the size ofthe net for packing.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for automatically binding the opening in a net beingpacked in an automatic packer, said apparatus comprising two mainbodies, each having a guide plate projecting therefrom toward the othermain body and each guide plate having a V-shaped cut therein on the endtoward the other main body, said main bodies being slidably mounted insaid apparatus for movement toward and away from each other, one of saidmain bodies having at least one fixed die thereon having a recesstherein for receiving the free ends of a U-shaped length of flat wirefor bending the ends to crimp the length of flat wire around the netbeing packed, and said one main body further having a cutting bladethereon movable toward and away from said other die for cutting the netbeing packed, flat wire feed means on said apparatus for feeding flatwire from a supply of flat wire, a movable die means on said other mainbody having a cutting and bending die movably mounted on said other mainbody and receiving the flat wire, a protruding rod movable through saidcutting and bending die, and stop members engageable with said cuttingand bending die for holding it fixed on said other main body, saidcutting and bending die moving with said other main body for cutting theflat wire which has been supplied and then bending it in a U- shape,engagement means on said one main body engaging said stop members fordisengaging the stop members from said cutting and bending die when saidcutting and bending die abuts said fixed die on said one main body forfreeing said cutting and bending die from said other main body duringfurther movement of said other main body, said movable protruding rodthen moving through said cutting and bending die when said cutting andbending die is freed from said other main body to engage said bentlength of flat wire and move it into said fixed die on said one mainbody as said main bodies move toward each other, and main body drivemeans coupled to said main bodies for driving them toward and away fromeach other, whereby when the net is positioned in the space between theV-shaped notches and the main bodies are driven toward each other aftera length of flat wire has been fed, the length of flat wire bent into aU-shape is passed over the net and the free ends enter the fixed die andthe movable die drives the bent length of flat wire into the fixed dieto crimp the flat wire tightly around the net.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which there are two fixed diesone spaced above the other on said one main body and said cutting bladeis positioned between them and has a cutting edge adjacent each fixeddie, and two movable die means one spaced above the other on said othermain body, and said flat wire feed means comprises means for feeding theflat wire to both said movable die means on said other main body,whereby the net is crimped at two points spaced along its length and iscut between said points.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said movable die meansfurther comprises a pin in the path of said cutting and bending die andpast which said cutting and bending die moves for bending the length offlat wire into a U-shape, and means coupled to said pin for withdrawingsaid pin from said path after said flat wire has been bent.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising means formoving said cutting blade on said one main body, said means comprising apivoted crank lever coupled to said cutting blade for moving said bladeback and forth by pivoting of said crank lever, spring means biasingsaid crank lever for driving said cutting blade toward said other mainbody, a latch lever engaging said crank lever for holding said latchlever against pivoting, and a roller coupled to said main body drivingmeans and movable back and forth between said latch lever and said cranklever for moving said latch lever for disengaging it from said cranklever to permit said crank lever to drive said cutting blade inthedirection toward said other main body and for moving said crank leveragainst the action of said spring means for returning said cutting bladeand reengaging said crank lever with said latch lever.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a crimped wirepush lever on said one main body having a portion passing over saidfixed die for engagement with the crimped flat wire, and latch means onthe other main body engageable with said push lever during the movementof said main bodies away from each other to stop movement of said pushlever while said one main body continues to move away from the othermain body, whereby the crimped flat wire is forced out of said fixeddie.

1. An apparatus for automatically binding the opening in a net beingpacked in an automatic packer, said apparatus comprising two mainbodies, each having a guide plate projecting therefrom toward the othermain body and each guide plate having a V-shaped cut therein on the endtoward the other main body, said main bodies being slidably mounted insaid apparatus for movement toward and away from each other, one of saidmain bodies having at least one fixed die thereon having a recesstherein for receiving the free ends of a U-shaped length of flat wirefor bending the ends to crimp the length of flat wire around the netbeing packed, and said one main body further having a cutting bladethereon movable toward and away from said other die for cutting the netbeing packed, flat wire feed means on said apparatus for feeding flatwire from a supply of flat wire, a movable die means on said other mainbody having a cutting and bending die movably mounted on said other mainbody and receiving the flat wire, a protruding rod movable through saidcutting and bending die, and stop members engageable with said cuttingand bending die for holding it fixed on said other main body, saidcutting and bending die moving with said other main body for cutting theflat wire which has been supplied and then bending it in a U-shape,engagement means on said one main body engaging said stop members fordisengaging the stop members from said cutting and bending die when saidcutting and bending die abuts said fixed die on said one main body forfreeing said cutting and bending die from said other main body dUringfurther movement of said other main body, said movable protruding rodthen moving through said cutting and bending die when said cutting andbending die is freed from said other main body to engage said bentlength of flat wire and move it into said fixed die on said one mainbody as said main bodies move toward each other, and main body drivemeans coupled to said main bodies for driving them toward and away fromeach other, whereby when the net is positioned in the space between theV-shaped notches and the main bodies are driven toward each other aftera length of flat wire has been fed, the length of flat wire bent into aU-shape is passed over the net and the free ends enter the fixed die andthe movable die drives the bent length of flat wire into the fixed dieto crimp the flat wire tightly around the net.
 2. An apparatus asclaimed in claim 1 in which there are two fixed dies one spaced abovethe other on said one main body and said cutting blade is positionedbetween them and has a cutting edge adjacent each fixed die, and twomovable die means one spaced above the other on said other main body,and said flat wire feed means comprises means for feeding the flat wireto both said movable die means on said other main body, whereby the netis crimped at two points spaced along its length and is cut between saidpoints.
 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said movable diemeans further comprises a pin in the path of said cutting and bendingdie and past which said cutting and bending die moves for bending thelength of flat wire into a U-shape, and means coupled to said pin forwithdrawing said pin from said path after said flat wire has been bent.4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising means formoving said cutting blade on said one main body, said means comprising apivoted crank lever coupled to said cutting blade for moving said bladeback and forth by pivoting of said crank lever, spring means biasingsaid crank lever for driving said cutting blade toward said other mainbody, a latch lever engaging said crank lever for holding said latchlever against pivoting, and a roller coupled to said main body drivingmeans and movable back and forth between said latch lever and said cranklever for moving said latch lever for disengaging it from said cranklever to permit said crank lever to drive said cutting blade inthedirection toward said other main body and for moving said crank leveragainst the action of said spring means for returning said cutting bladeand reengaging said crank lever with said latch lever.
 5. An apparatusas claimed in claim 1 further comprising a crimped wire push lever onsaid one main body having a portion passing over said fixed die forengagement with the crimped flat wire, and latch means on the other mainbody engageable with said push lever during the movement of said mainbodies away from each other to stop movement of said push lever whilesaid one main body continues to move away from the other main body,whereby the crimped flat wire is forced out of said fixed die.